Tsipras welcomed by applause, handshakes but also boos Parliament. The Greek premier spoke this morning for the first time in the Strasbourg assembly and announced that today it will send the proposal for a new bridging loan to the ESM (European stability mechanism also known as the Salva-Stati fund). His speech left the faces of the President of the Commission Jean Claude Juncker and the President of the Parliament Martin Schultz impassive, but it opened a very broad debate in the European Parliament during which the concerns of the countries of the North (Slovakia) and of the 'East.
THE INTERVENTION OF TSIPRAS
"The courageous choice of the Greek people - began Tsipras referring to the victory of the No vote in the referendum - is not a choice to break with Europe but it is the choice to return to the values that underlie the EU to arrive at a just solution on a social and economically sustainable level, without repeating the mistakes of the past and without an austerity that does not allow for ways out”. Tsipras argued that Greece was called to an unprecedented effort and blamed the governments that preceded him, in the last 5 years before this last semester in which he leads the executive, the responsibility for the serious and difficult current situation.
“It's true – he said – that austerity programs have also been implemented elsewhere in Europe and not only in Greece, but have never been carried out with such harshness". Greece, in essence, acted as a guinea pig, “it was an experimental laboratory of unsuccessful austerity: unemployment is skyrocketing, poverty and social exclusion have increased, public debt has grown from 100% to the current 120% of GDP. The referendum demonstrates the desire of the Greek people to get out of this grip”. It's still: "The funds allocated by Europe have so far gone to US and European banks but have never reached the Greek people".
From the analysis to the proposals, Tsipras remained on general concepts, without going into detailed measures. However, he confirmed that the government intends to act promptly over the next 2-3 days to arrive at a "agreement that takes us out of the crisis with reliable reforms and a fair distribution of burdens which so far have been loaded above all on the shoulders of employees and pensioners". “10% of Greeks – he recalled – hold 56% of national wealth and have remained out of the sights of European policies. The bailout programs carried out to date have widened this gap.
Tsipras therefore indicated the line he intends to follow: “The first objective must be the fight against unemployment. Furthermore, we need to address the issue of debt sustainability and look at reality without taboos. Our crisis is the mirror of European weakness”. Finally, the conclusion with a reference to Europe, the cradle of democracy: “The ongoing negotiation – he concluded – aims to confirm double respect for Europe and for the democratic choice of our peoples. We demand an agreement that takes us definitively out of the tunnel. European history is a history of conflicts and compromises, of successive unions. We must find a compromise in this circumstance as well to avoid a historical fracture that would overturn the unity acquired up to now”.
REPLICAS AND CRITICISM
Tsipras' words opened up one split in the European Parliament. Harsh criticism from the countries of Northern and Eastern Europe. Manfred Weber, of the European People's Party, goes on the attack: «You represent a government – he shouted to Tsipras – which has said many things in recent weeks, for example that the creditors have been called terrorists. The Greek prime minister should apologize for these unacceptable statements, but she didn't. Even yesterday – she added – she has not submitted proposals, she destroys trust. You were democratically elected, we respect that. But she loves provocation we compromise, we want success she wants failure. I hope you present the reform proposals soon. The nationalists, on the other hand, were positive, from the Englishman Farage to Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini. Martine Le Pen he invited him to "be courageous and draw the consequences: get out of the euro". So too Matteo Salvini he said he "appreciated Tsipras for his desire to get out of this cage but then he doesn't go all the way: get out of the euro" European Council President Donald Tusk he called for “a common settlement with no losers or winners. If this does not happen, it will be the end of the negotiation with all worst case scenarios, in which everyone will lose. With the bankruptcy of Greece and the crisis of the banking system, a very hard period will open for Greek citizens. Anyone who doesn't admit it is naive. We have 4 days for an agreement, this is the last deadline. Everyone has a responsibility to solve the crisis”.
TENSION WITH JUNCKER
The reply of the president of the EU Commission Jaen-Claude Juncker is resentful: «Without the interruption of the negotiations we would have reached an agreement: the Barroso Commission has never carried out direct comparisons as we have done. Previously it was the technocrats who negotiated, today the Commissioners, including the President », he told Tsipras. For Greece «the Commission had proposed a multiannual loan program for 35 billion euro. It is good that we know all the things that have been said behind those closed doors», said the president of the EU Commission Jean Claude Juncker to the European Parliament.
THE COUNTER-REPLY ON PENSIONS AND DEBT
"I ask for a debt cut in order to be able to repay the money: I remember that the moment of maximum solidarity in the EU was in 1953 when 60% of the German debt was cut, after the war" answered Alexis Tsipras addressing the criticisms of Manfred Weber. And then again he opened up on the critical issue of pensions: “There are distortions of the past that need to be overcome, such as the question of pensions. We want to abolish baby pensions in a country that is in a disastrous situation. We need reforms, but we want to keep the criterion for choosing how to divide the weight“. He concludes: "If I had wanted to drag Greece out of the euro I would not have made the declarations after the referendum, I don't have a secret plan for leaving the euro".
